Question Adding a second SSD! M.2 or SATA?

ACentauri

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Feb 4, 2016
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4,510
Hello kind readers! How do you do today? :)

I'm loving my first SSD upgrade, using it as my main system drive is night and day, as you know!

Anyways, I'm jealous that my brother just scooped up a WD Black for half the price that I got my Intel 600p at, way back when it was new. So I want to get another SSD for fast storage, mainly editing videos for YT. I already have a 4TB and a 1TB HDD as well. Both WD Blue.

My question is, with the ASUS z170-a MB, can I do another M.2?

Any recommendations/suggestions?

Thanks!

Q
 

The prime mediocre

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Hi! Yeah SSD prices are hilarious. I just picked up a 1TB Intel 660p for $124. The vast majority of Z170 boards only shipped with one M.2 slot, and your Z170-A is one of those. If you're set on NVMe, you can get a PCIe x4 to M.2 adapter for ~$20. If you go that route (or just upgrade the 600p), the 1TB HP EX920 costs $160 and is competitive with the WD Black and Samsung 970 EVO. SATA-wise, you could get an 860 EVO, but they're a bit more expensive than the Crucial MX500 ($135) and WD Blue 3D NAND ($126) for almost no actual difference in speed. The Samsung 860 QVO ($118) is in the same ballpark for general use. But it sounds like you're going to be writing to it a lot, so it's worth spending ten more dollars for better write speeds.
Hope this helps!
 

ACentauri

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Feb 4, 2016
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4,510
It does!! Lol unfortunately, up here in canada land, all those prices are still almost double. w00t. Regardless, since I can't do another M.2 without an adapter, how'd something like this compare for bang for buck? Especially write speed wise?

https://www.amazon.ca/TEAMGROUP-T-F...ments=p_n_feature_three_browse-bin:7329965011

https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?item=9SIAH4G8SP3814

My system is white and lots of rgb, so it'd also be a welcome addition!

Thinkin I might even get 2. One for games, and one for video editing.

In CA, an M.2 like the 660p or HP EX920 are $170-220 respectively.

(Also, Linus is scaring me away from the 660p for my use.)
View: https://youtu.be/OffzVc7ZB-o?t=93


Toughts? Thanks again!!!
 

The prime mediocre

Distinguished
The TeamGroup SSDs aren't terrible, they just trade performance for RGB lighting. I believe the Micron TLC flash they use is at least a generation old. The MX500 and WD Blue are both faster and cheaper. You definitely shouldn't get a Team SSD if you're worried about the 660p's performance.